South Korea's major crypto policy trends: allowing legal entities to open crypto real-name accounts

Foresight News: South Korea's Crypto Policy Shift: Allowing Legal Entities to Open Crypto Accounts South Korea is officially opening the door to the virtual asset market for institutional investors. The key points are: 1. Enforcement agencies, non-profit organizations, and crypto exchanges will be allowed to open real-name virtual asset accounts, initially for the purpose of "cash conversion". 2. Professional investment firms (for investment and financial purposes) and general corporations will be gradually allowed to participate in the future. 3. The government is formulating a roadmap to gradually allow legal entities to participate in the virtual currency market, without compromising user protection and market stability. 4. The plan is to implement this in three phases, starting with enforcement agencies, non-profits, and exchanges, followed by professional investment firms, and eventually general corporations. 5. This policy shift reflects the changing landscape of South Korea's crypto market and the trend towards mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies.

Stage Two: Professional Investment Institutions (Planned to be launched in the second half of 2025)

The policy plan to be promoted in the second half of this year in the second stage will allow professional investment institutions to invest in virtual assets. According to the Capital Market Act, professional investment institutions do not include financial companies, but are aimed at listed companies and legal entities registered as professional investors (about 3,500). This is to pilot the transactions of legal entities for investment and financial purposes, mainly starting with the trading transactions of institutional investors with risk-bearing capacity.

Due to the potential anti-money laundering risks that large-scale virtual asset transactions may bring, the government will implement it after formulating relevant guidelines and monitoring measures. In addition, due to the different investment capabilities of each institution, the opening of accounts will be subject to detailed review by banks and exchanges.

Stage Three: Participation of General Corporations (Medium and Long-term Plan)

The full participation of general corporations will be studied as a medium and long-term plan, as it involves institutional adjustments such as secondary legislation on virtual assets and foreign exchange tax system. The legislation in the second stage needs to include the regulation of the business conduct of virtual asset exchanges and the regulatory system for stablecoins. At the same time, the Foreign Exchange Transaction Act needs to be improved to monitor cross-border virtual asset transactions.

Future Plans and Prospects

The Financial Services Commission plans to work with the government and private institutions to formulate guidelines for corporate participation in virtual asset investment. Kim Cho-rong, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said: "Regarding the virtual asset-related laws in the second stage, including stablecoins, traders and transaction supervision, we will accelerate the discussion within the Virtual Asset Committee." He also added: "Regarding Token Securities, we have submitted relevant legislative amendments, and we will actively support the National Assembly to pass the bill quickly."

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